Let every nymph, although equal in beauty to Shireen,[10]
Pay homage to thy superiority; and let all men
Become like Ferhad[11] of the mountain,
Distracted on beholding thy loveliness.
How could the star of day have shone amidst the heavens,
If the moon of thy countenance had not concealed
Its splendour beneath the cloud of a veil?
Oh! banish me not from thy sight;
Command me--it will be charitable--
Command me to die.
How long wilt thou reject the amorous solicitations
Of thy Khacan? Wilt thou drive him to madness
By thy unrelenting cruelty? The doomed
To endless tears and lamentations.
[5] A person, called the Mawezn, summons the people to prayers
from the tower, at certain stated times, by ringing bells.
[6] Toos, the son of Nouder, makes a conspicuous figure among
the princes and warriors, celebrated by Ferdoosi in his book of
Kings.
[7] Caus supposed to have been Darius the Mede by some
historians.
[8] This poetical surname Khacan, adopted by Fath Ali Shah,
signifies emperor or king.
[9] The prophet Khezr (whom some mistake for Elias) is said to
have discovered and tasted the "waters of immortality," and
consequently to be exempt from death.
Pages:
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31